Question 2: Male or Female?

Question 2 - Is a male human skull different from that of a female? If yes, how?

So now we shall proceed with question 2 of part 1 ! Gender is an important aspect in forensic dentistry and is one of the key features to be identified.

Okay, okay. We already know that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Of course, there are lots of differences between us that will reiterate that statement, but, from a dental standpoint, are our teeth so different from one another that they too are from an alien planet?

But before we begin brainstorming on this interesting aspect, we should first understand the anatomy of the skull! And here (below) is a very simple and easy to understand video on the anatomy of the skull!

Anatomy of Skull

Now that we obtained a clear understanding of the anatomy of the skull, we can attempt in figuring the gender of the child! BUT hold on right there!

A very important note to be clear is that it is generally not possible to give a gender to the skull, as it has not passed puberty and is starting to show some of the characteristics appropriate to its sex. Since the hormones are yet to wake up and carry out their amazing jobs, the sex of the child is nowhere near to be identified.

HOWEVER, there are a few features whereby (forensic dentists) can look out for and keep an extra eye for these few features, all listed below!

  

Skull (Cranium and Mandible)

Male Skulls:

• Generally larger than female.
• Larger projections behind the ears.
• Larger brow ridges, with sloping, less rounded (mastoid processes) forehead.
• Square chin with a more vertical greater definition of muscle attachment areas (acute) angle of the jaw on the back of the head. 

 

Female Skulls:

• Smoother bone surfaces where muscles attach (mastoid processes).
• Smaller projections behind the ears.
• Less pronounced brow ridges, with more pointed chin.
• Larger, obtuse vertical forehead angle of the jaw.
• Sharp upper margins of the eye orbits.

                                                                                                  

 As you can see below, here are two gorgeous looking models! Apart from their teeth being shiny bright white, it can be seen that the male teeth is slightly larger than the female’s teeth. In most cases, generally the males teeth are larger than the females teeth!

However do take note that there could be variations at times

 

 Next up, let's look at the palate of the skull (the roof of the mouth). The male has a larger size of palate compared to female. *An easy way to remember this is that, generally males eat more than woman, hence the larger palate!

 

And below , is an image of the zygomatic arch of both males and females, and you may find a difference in the zygomatic arch (cheek bone). As in many examples, the male is in domination again. The zygomatic arch is wider in males and narrower in females.

 

 Contour of the face is another distinct feature whereby the males have skull which is longer and the chin is bigger and protrudes more forwards, the skull is rugged due to its muscular make up, and the zygomatic bones are also more massive. While in females, the skull is rounded with the facial bones being more smoother, with jaws mandible and the maxilla being smaller! Which makes sense, as girls usually have a smaller body frame compared to males!

Picture below shows the side by side comparison of males and female skull and contour of face.

 A&B ( males) while C&D (females)

 

Below is a table, which we have compiled for easier comparison and reference between the difference of male and females in terms of the dental aspect.  

Aspects                                   Male skull                                            Female skull

Weight                                    Heavier                                                Lighter

Size                                         Larger than female                              Smaller than male

Thickness                               Thicker                                                Thinner

Forehead                                 Slightly sloping                                   Vertical

Vault of the Skull                   Vault is more rounded                        Vault is flatter

Supraorbital margin                More rounded                                     Sharp

Mastoid process                      Large                                                  Small

Tympanic plate                       Large & margins more rounded         Small & margins less rounded

With that, we hope that it is now much clearer to identify the differences between a male and a female in terms of the dental aspect in forensic dentistry! :)

References

1) http://www.forensic-dentistry.info/wp/

2)Fehrenbach, Margaret J. 2011. 3rd ed. Ilustrated Dental Embryology, Histology, and Anatomy.

Question 3: From the story above so far, how many victims are there? Explain.

Congratulations! You have reached the last question for part one! Here goes the third question!

QUESTION 3
From the story above so far, how many victims are there? Explain.

Based on the story given above, although not much evidence can be found, we can definitely be sure that there is at least one male skeleton who is a young child, just like what Dr. Rudi has mentioned. Therefore, we can also conclude that the number of victims involved in this incident is one or more than one.

So, how did we come to the conclusion that there is at least one victim involved?

Well firstly, let’s list out the evidence that are collected:

• Parts of a human skull can be found.
• Few pieces of jaw-like structures bearing some teeth have been found. 

Based on the first evidence, it can be confirmed that there is at least one victim as parts of a human skull were collected upon inspection of the crime scene. You might also question, how can we be sure that the human skull is of a young male child?

To determine the gender and approximate age of the victim, the evidence are to be analysed carefully. As mentioned above in question two, male and female present distinct characteristics on skulls that enable them to be differentiated. Besides, the sutures present on the skull and the eruption of the tooth play an imperative role in determining the approximate age of the skulls.

Therefore, for Dr Rudi to be so sure that the skull belongs to a young child, the size of the skull must have been obviously smaller than the size of a normal adult skull.

Question solved!

Waittttt... That’s not the end, remember earlier we have mentioned that there is another hypothesis that states the possibility of more than one victim? Why would we say so?

This is again due to the lack of evidence collected as the crime scene investigators are yet to examine the parameter for any other body parts and human remains. However, we can be sure that with thorough examination of the crime scene for more evidence and continuous investigation, we will soon be able to determine the exact number of victims in no time.